| Suffix a car with Sport and throw in a new test track - whee! Well, that’s how it should be. Unfortunately, in our adrenaline addled minds, test tracks are full of wildly challenging corners, acres of run-off room, no ESP and unbridled aggression. In the real world, that rarely happens. The only thing we got out of all that, was no ESP, and that’s because the Corolla Altis doesn’t have ESP. The test track in question is the new test facility at Toyota’s Bidadi plant. Before I go completely off the track, the facility is designed for basic model testing and apart from the usual gamut of shower stalls and rumble strips, it has a 1085m straight with two U-turns at the end, both signposted for 30kmph. And no, over speeding is frowned upon. Although, I have to admit, that on the day, the Toyota staff were feeling rather indulgent, allowing me to squeal the Altis Sport as much as I liked. So what is it about the new Corolla Altis Sport? Well, it’s a tarted-up Altis. You get bumper extensions in the front and rear bumpers, a subtle side skirt, some headlamp highlights and a tiny rear spoiler. Inside, there’s two-tone seat fabric and - oh you have to get this feature in your next car - wood-finish rear cup holders. And you can have this car in ‘two exciting colours’ - silver and grey. The overall impact, when you’re staring at the car from the outside is of a more aggressive car. I’m not saying it’s prettier or worse looking because I can’t decide. What I do know is that the Sport looks decidedly more aggressive than the vanilla Corolla Altis unlimited edition. There are no powertrain tweaks, which means you get the usual 1.8-litre VVTi engine that makes 132PS and 170Nm. Shifting up through the five-manual box, you remember that the Altis does everything well enough to be a good drive, but the dynamic package leans heavily towards a cossetting ride quality. The result is a understeer-y car that demonstrates its dislike for hard cornering with body roll. On the other hand, the rear seat of the Corolla is one of the best in the segment, with its exceptional ride quality (and wood-finish cup holders) doing its utmost to offer you an unruffled, smooth commute. The limited edition is on sale for Rs 11.35 lakh ex-showroom Delhi and if you want one, you’d better rush your order in before the 300 are all spoken for. |
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| Toyota Corolla Altis Sport Sedan |
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